Car crashes through church in McDade

Plywood covers both side walls to the Weeping Willow Baptist Church in McDade.

Pictures sent to Fox-7 Austin show two gaping holes and the damage inside. It was caused after a vehicle smashed into the church. The incident happened Saturday.

Tracks,  cut through tall grass where the eastbound vehicle left Hwy 290 can still be seen.  There are also skid marks were the vehicle avoided a tree as it careened toward the small church. Deacon Norman Owens said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he arrived at the scene.

“I couldn’t because it went through this ... over here knocked out 13 pews, so he was going pretty fast when he went through here,”said  Deacon Owens. 

Some members meet at the church on Saturdays but Owens said no one was there at the time when the car came through.

The driver, identified 34-year-old Jesse Mendez of Houston was charged with DWI. 

Members of the church held services this past Sunday at another church. They will do so again until repairs are made.

"We just trust in God that he will supply what we need, we believe in everything ...  that it happened because God let it, so  he’s going to fix this like he has done everything else that has happened to us ... Because we had our old church burned down and we rebuild this one so we believe we are going to get this fixed,” said Owens.

The church did have insurance according to Owens. The congregation is about to celebrate its 130th anniversary.

A big gathering was being planned for early December. They’re not sure if all the repair work will be finished by then.